Wind Power News: Romania

These news and opinion items are gathered by National Wind Watch to help keep readers informed about developments related to industrial wind energy. They are the products of the organizations or individuals noted and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of National Wind Watch.

As regulatory changes slash revenue potential, Monsson Group will take down its completed 27MW wind farm rather than switch on and lose money for 25 years. Romanian renewable energy firm Monsson Group is preparing to dismantle turbines at its 27MW Targusor wind farm in Constance county, a sign of just how bad things have become in the country’s once booming wind business. Targusor’s nine 3MW Vestas V90 turbines should be removed by end September, expects Monsson business development manager Sebastian . . .Complete story »

Romania will cut its support scheme for new wind, solar and small hydro renewable energy projects from January, a government decree said today (17 December), to avoid overcompensating producers and curb price increases for industry and homes. The incentives give developers green certificates for each megawatt generated and force power suppliers and large users to buy them based on an annual quota set by the energy regulator. Green energy investors gain once by selling certificates and again when they sell . . .Complete story »

“The influence of green certificates in the cost of products made in Romania, as well as on households, has started to be very big,” Constantin Nita, the minister for energy, said in a radio interview last month after announcing the government’s proposal. The cost of certificates, passed on to customers, would account for almost half of a 10 percent increase in electricity tariffs this year, he said.Complete story »

Romania plans to temporarily cut in half subsidies energy consumers pay for clean power by holding back one in every two green certificates it currently awards to utilities for generating electricity from wind turbines. The frozen certificates, which electricity distributors are obliged to buy before passing on the cost to consumers, will be paid out from 2017, Energy Minister Constantin Nita said today. The suspension of certificates is due to start in July, he said. “We considered several variants for . . .Complete story »

Romania’s government will cut its support scheme for wind, solar and small hydro renewable energy projects to avoid overcompensating investors, energy regulator ANRE said on Friday. Elsewhere in the European Union, countries such as Germany, Britain and Spain have either cut or plan to reduce incentives for renewable energy after years of strong government support. Romania’s support scheme gives renewable power producers green certificates for each megawatt generated. Suppliers must get an increasing percentage of the power they sell from . . .Complete story »

Even if the naysayers are right and they produce little else, wind farms most certainly generate debate. Doubts of their efficiency, cost, reliability and aesthetic impact are pitched against the fundamental need for a move to a cleaner form of energy production. But the argument has become misplaced. In trying to deal with an issue that has come about due to our disregard of the natural world we live in, we have fallen again into an entirely human centric approach, . . .Complete story »

Unprecedented storm wreaks havoc on Romania’s energy sector – yet another sign of changing global weather patterns? Ever since an earthquake and tsunami on 11 March 2011 effectively destroyed Japan’s six reactor Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power complex, and more recently, Hurricane Sandy forced the shutdown of NPPs along the eastern seaboard of the U.S., increasingly violent weather patterns have become a matter of rising concern to operators of NPPs worldwide. The latest nation to be tormented by violent weather patterns . . .Complete story »

[In a traditional Czech village in Romania, wind turbines bring destruction and distraction – Saint Helena, the oldest Czech village of in the Romanian border area of ​​Banat, which has for centuries maintained the traditional character of the Czech countryside, is in danger of disappearing due to the construction of twenty wind farms in its vicinity. Residents are struggling to stop the developers. Their livelihood depends on tourism, which could be threatened by the giant propellers coming into their backyard. That . . .Complete story »

The connection of wind farms to the national electricity grid requires over EUR 500 M of investment, money Transelectrica does not have, therefore some production capabilities will have to operate with restrictions unless financing sources are identified, Mediafax reports. ‘We are being told we should come up with solutions. Those solutions cost more than EUR 500 M as investment. Transelectrica doesn’t have the funds. We are now discussing with the National Regulatory Agency in the Field of Energy (ANRE) to . . .Complete story »

Electricity price could rise with 10% next year, as more aeolian parks will be supported through the green certificate scheme, says Zoltan Nagy, energy efficiency chief within the National Energy Regulatory Agency ANRE. The scheme will be applied between 2011 and 2021. The highest impact for consumers will be felt in 2016-2017, when they could pay up to 30% higher bills. ANRE estimates electricity consumers will pay a total additional amount of €10bn by 2020 to support investments in renewable . . .Complete story »